The Animanicast- An Animaniacs Podcast

The Animanicast is a podcast dedicated to the classic animated television series "Animaniacs." Join your hosts Joey, Nathan and Kelly as they revisit each episode in the order in which they were released. They'll discuss their favorite moments, jokes, characters as well as their memories of first watching the episode. The show's pop cultural references are also discussed and explored in detail. (You might just learn some cool facts!) In the end, each episode receives a "Water Tower Rating" from the hosts. So cue up an episode of Animaniacs on Hulu or on DVD and then listen to the Animanicast to keep the fun going!

Categories

Each and every week, your hosts revisit an episode of the series in the order in which they first premiered. They discuss their favorite jokes, gags, and discuss all the cultural references they can find! In this special episode, Joey, Nathan and Kelly welcome Charles M. Howell IV to discuss what it was like writing for Animaniacs and other shows like Pinky and the Brain. Charles shares his influences, how he got involved in animation, and shares some of his memories of working in animation.

An Interview/Discussion with Charles M. Howell IV

Getting Started in Animation

Charles shares how he got involved in animation at places like Hanna Barbera and how he met Tom Ruegger as an assistant animator. From there he shares how he got involved with Warner Bros animation and got involved in Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain.

Working on Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain

Charles shares some of his thoughts on some of the segments he worked on over the years. One of his favorites, "Hooked on a Ceiling" was even called "the template" of what a Warners cartoon should look like by creator Tom Ruegger.

Charles also shares his memories of working on the spin-off series, "Pinky and the Brain," as well as "Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain." Charles also shares his thoughts on what make Pinky and the Brain such funny and complex characters.

Thoughts on the Reboot

Charles shares his thoughts on the upcoming reboot stating that it's typical for executives to want to hire popular/hot writers to help sell their cartoons. Original writers tend to not be involved. He has a wait and see attitude and states that , "Good characters always live... they will just keep coming back." He does jokingly hope however that characters like Mindy and Buttons don't return.

Different Ways to Support Our Show

If you'd like to support out show there's lots of ways to do it! First of all, you could go onto Apple Podcasts and leave us a five-star positive review.

Also, don't forget to tell a friend about the show! Your retweets and post shares help others find us.

Each and every week, your hosts revisit an episode of the series in the order in which they first premiered. They discuss their favorite jokes, gags, and discuss all the cultural references they can find! Today's episode features a parody of "The Lion King," a sequel to "Yakko's World," a tribute to Dr. Seuss, and Slappy gives actors a lesson in real method acting.

The Tiger Prince/All The Words in the English Language/The Kid in the Lid/Method to Her Madness

The Tiger Prince

It’s a surprisingly well done parody of the lion king opening song. Joey, Kelly, and Nathan compare all the shots and lyrics to the motion picture, and discover some unique coincidences.

All The Words in the English Language

Yakko attempts to top his classic song “Yakko’s World” by singing “All the Words in the English Language”. Dot and Dick Button act as sports announcers as we repeatedly return to see Yakko’s progress in this three part segment. By the end, Yakko is completely exhausted, and collapses before he can finish. Amazingly he pulls out just enough strength to finish the song,

The Kid in the Lid

It’s a Dr. Seuss Parody staring Yakko as the Cat in the Hat, or in this case, the Kid in the Lid. Just like the Cat in the Hat, the Kids are unable to go outside, and their parents are away. This segment even has Dot and Wakko filling in for Thing 1 and Thing 2 as Kid 1 and Kid 2. The Warners end up destroying the house only to rebuild it after the parents come home. Nathan, Kelly, and Joey talk about Baynarts' name and their favorite rhymes in this Seussian segment.

Method to Her Madness

Skippy istaking a class in the Stanislavski method, and Slappy decides to watch a class. Skippy is top of the class, but Slappy only sees the same bored expression over and over. Slappy decides to teach everyone real acting which involves comedic timing and comic violence. This segment has TONS of caricature cameos and Joe, Nathan, and Kelly try to remember them all while discussing their favorite gags.

Rob Paulsen is one of the nicest People on earth

Kelly recalls her first meeting with Rob Paulsen, and Nathan and Joey read off some more listeners emails remembering Rob.

Different Ways to Support Our Show

If you'd like to support out show there's lots of ways to do it! First of all, you could go onto Apple Podcasts and leave us a five-star positive review.

Also, don't forget to tell a friend about the show! Your retweets and post shares help others find us.

Each and every week, your hosts revisit an episode of the series in the order in which they first premiered. They discuss their favorite jokes, gags, and discuss all the cultural references they can find! In this special episode, Joey and Nathan discuss their memories of meeting Rob Paulsen, as well as sharing some stories our listeners have.

Happy Birthday Rob!

Before sharing voice mails and emails from listeners, Joey and Nathan share some of their memories of first meeting Rob Paulsen back on April 9, 1995. Rob, along with Tress MacNielle and Jess Harnell were touring around to different Warner Bros. stores and stopped by Tucson. Nathan recalls a little bit, but Joey is able to fill in some of the gaps. Nathan remembers the actors singing "Happy Birthday" to him in character and being a little nervous. Joey remembers talking to Rob about voice acting and Rob going above and beyond to make sure that he and his siblings had a great experience.

Listener Stories

We asked for listener stories and memories of Rob Paulsen and we got a ton of emails, so many in fact that we will have additional listener feedback segments so that we can continue to hear and ready. Listeners talk about Rob being friendly, a great listener, and an incredibly nice person. One of our listeners, Jeanie, also sent us a link to her and Rob singing Yakko's World! Check it out HERE.

Did you send in an email to animanicast@retrozap.com and didn't hear your message being played/read? Well, tune in next week and we will read a few more! If you didn't send one yet, please do and you might hear your thoughts on the next show!

Merchandise

Joey and Nathan have a follow up on the latest Animaniacs merchandise available at JC Penney and Hot Topic. There's some really awesome designs!

Different Ways to Support Our Show

If you'd like to support out show there's lots of ways to do it! First of all, you could go onto Apple Podcasts and leave us a five-star positive review.

Also, don't forget to tell a friend about the show! Your retweets and post shares help others find us.

Each and every week, your hosts revisit an episode of the series in the order in which they first premiered. They discuss their favorite jokes, gags, and discuss all the cultural references they can find! In this special episode, Joey, Nathan and Kelly welcome John P. McCann to discuss what it was like writing for Animaniacs and other shows like Freakazoid. You'll also find out what John's been up to since then.

An Interview/Discussion with John P. McCann

Working on Animaniacs

John shares how he first got involved with Animaniacs after first writing an episode for Tiny Toon Adventures. He talks about some of his favorite episodes, characters, and what it was like working with Steven Spielberg. John has some very interesting stories to tell about what it was like working on Animaniacs and why it was unlike any other writing experience.

Freakazoid

Some time is spent talking with John about his experiences working on Freakazoid. John voiced Dexter Douglas' dad, Douglas Douglas, as well as the heroic and annoying Hero Boy!

Thoughts on the Reboot

John has not been asked to return to the new series. While he remains "cautiously optimistic," he talks about why he thinks the show won't be the same. One of the reasons is that the writing staff will be completely new and the other factor is that John believes that the studio won't invest as much money as they did in the past. While the new show may look and feel different he asserts that, "We'll always have Paris."

Today

John has recently written several e-books and has written a few episodes of cartoons here and there. John's latest book, They Took My Prostate, is about John's experience with prostate cancer. John talks about why he decided to write the book and talks about some of his other books as well. You can check out his work on Amazon HERE.